The recent cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on 05 August 2025 triggered severe flash floods, particularly in Dharali village. The intense and sudden rainfall caused rivers like the Kheer Ganga to overflow, leading to large-scale destruction of homes and infrastructure. At least five people lost their lives, several remain missing, and around 190 people have been rescued so far (here, here, and here).
In this context, a photo (here, here, here, here and here) showing the aftermath of a cloudburst has gone viral on social media. Several news outlets (here, here and here) have also included this photo in their reports. Let’s find out the truth behind this photo.
Claim: The viral photo shows the aftermath of a recent cloudburst in Uttarakhand.
Fact: The photo is AI-generated. AI detection tools—Hive (99.9%) and Sightengine (99%)—confirmed this. Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
Upon closely examining the photo, we noticed the letters “ai” written at the bottom-right corner. The pixelation and resolution also raise doubts, suggesting that the image may have been AI-generated.
To verify whether the image was AI-generated, we ran it through detection tools like Hive and Sightengine. Hive detected it as 99.9% AI-generated, while Sightengine gave a 99% result, clearly indicating that the photo is not original and was created using AI.
Additionally, the Uttarakhand Police shared several photos of the cloudburst incident on X, showing the actual damage. Other media outlets also published similar photos, but none of them match the viral photo, further suggesting it is not authentic.
To sum up, an AI-generated image is falsely shared as showing the aftermath of the Uttarkashi cloudburst.
